This was written when Napoleon was in his mid 20s after things had turned sour with his fiancée/sister in law Eugénie Desirée Clary. Napoleon was a depressed guy who fell in love easily, almost always in the same way. First, he was nuts about her. Then he got to know her.

The woman who I feel was the exception to this was his stepdaughter/sister in law Hortense. He was always clinging to her, doing whatever he could to keep her from escaping his grasp - evincing a lot of hurt anger when he felt she wasn’t showing him any devotion. I believe the memoirs show that these were his reactions and actions.

I also suspect Napoleon loaded the women in his life with diamonds so he could get away with showering his stepdaughter with expensive jewelry. Otherwise, Napoleon was known for frugality and flipping out at Josephine for her lavish spending.

Hortense has significant historical stones named after her and she is a figure in the history of jewelry simply because Napoleon gave her so much of it. Napoleon never publicly admitted to anything but a fatherly love for her but his behavior indicated otherwise. I revisit this topic frequently because I feel it shows the real heart of this much maligned man.

Page 1 of the novella is here.